In an interview with Sundar Pichai, head of Chrome and Android at Google, Businessweek managed to extract a truly exciting tidbit: the next major version of Android will be demoed at Google I/O ahead of its fall release.

“I want the world to understand what we are doing sooner”

This is a marked change from business as usual at I/O. Google hasn't demoed a version of Android far ahead of its release since Andy Rubin showed off an early incarnation of Honeycomb three-and-a-half years ago at the D: Dive Into Mobile conference. And Honeycomb, for all its experimentation and innovation, was widely-regarded as a flop.

It seems inevitable that we'll be seeing some of these things teased at the I/O keynote tomorrow morning, though given that the "L" release is still apparently slated for an official coming-out in fall, it's hard to say what level of detail we'll be seeing at the show. What we can say now with increasing confidence is that Volantis, aka the upcoming HTC Nexus tablet (and maybe the last of the Nexus devices), will likely be the hardware Google debuts this software on (not at I/O, though - that seems unlikely). After all, every truly major release of Android (and at least a couple non-major ones) has had an accompanying piece of hardware launch alongside it. For the record:

Éclair (2.1): Nexus One

Gingerbread (2.3): Nexus S

Honeycomb (3.0): Motorola XOOM (which was basically a Nexus in everything but name)

Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0): Galaxy Nexus

Jelly Bean (4.1): Nexus 7

Jelly Bean (4.2): Nexus 4 / 10

Jelly Bean (4.3): Nexus 7 (2013)

KitKat (4.4): Nexus 5

The pattern should be obvious at this point. Given that the Nexus phone program appears to be deceased, and the continued build-up of rumors around a Nexus tablet, but not a Nexus phone, Volantis is by far the best candidate. We probably won't see Volantis at I/O, though, which is likely to draw Apple comparisons. Android's arch-nemesis has recently chosen to preview new iterations of iOS ahead of accompanying hardware announcements, saving devices for unveiling until later in the year.

Comments

It had to be done, it's an unofficial AP comment section tradition for such articles

bse88

Iei!

arturodelac

If they release it to developers it will be great

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

It would be pretty wild if Google released dev builds to Nexus hardware early. I really want this to happen.

http://www.thepixelpuse.com/ Aj Meadows

I would probably lose partial control over some or all of my bodily functions if that happened.

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

Android "L" Release Developer Build: You'll literally flop with joy.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

That should be new Android's motto

http://www.androidpolice.com/ Artem Russakovskii

It's been suggested to me that this may actually happen at some point. Not specifically tied to I/O, and it's been a few months, but one insider did suggest it. I don't know if Google is ready to do this yet, but it would indeed be amazeballs.

https://plus.google.com/+MichaelBond codemonkey85

So this would be Google pushing out an optional beta to Nexus hardware, but not pushing to AOSP until the official launch in the fall?

http://www.androidpolice.com/ Artem Russakovskii

I don't know, I wouldn't listen to myself at this point.

WORPspeed

Do I listen to you telling me not to listen to you or do you want me to start and ignore that part and actually keep listening to you and thus stop listening to you....my head hurts

Nicholas Polydor

Isn't that what they did for Android 4.1 when they announced and gave away the Nexus 7 at Google I/O 2012 before the public release a couple of months later?

Nate Behary

It was only a few weeks. I/O was late June and 4.1 was released in July effectively when N7's started shipping. (I think it started pushing to other NEXUS devices a few days before. Not sure, my N7 was my first, and only started paying attention to that after I had it)

A few months early in any form would be really different.

Blue Sun

Other Nexus devices got it about a week later, much longer for the VZW Galaxy Nexus.

usaff22

Maybe an AOSP beta branch?

EowynCarter

Well, there IS a need for a larger beta test. Nexus used to fill that role.
Now, well ?

http://www.droid-life.com/ Steve B

How do you think this would work? Would it be an opt-in type of thing?

Philip Kahn

Think about Play Store beta channels. I bet they could do it that way.

asdf

That would be AWESOME.

Artem,
Do you think we will receive 4.5 Kitkat tomorrow? or any minor android update?

As a developer it would be nice to get a preview.. but! I think the real exciting news with this is with hardware partners, imagine if they had a list of OEMs that would be updating to the next version of android day one with the nexus line

I wouldn't complain if they did, but Google is HUGE. They probably have more than enough employees internally testing the builds and giving more useful feedback than most end users would.

WORPspeed

Didn't they release an early Jellybean build for people attending i/o that year? They got a free nexus 7 loaded with a pre-release version of Jellybean

Pootis Man

That would be sick!

ddpacino

All the more reason to keep the Nexus line... no? :)

ninjaskillage

I just hope the 2012 Nexus 7 is still supported.

Titor

It's been almost 2 years since the Nexus 7 was released, plus it's really slow. I doubt it.

Simon Belmont

Mine isn't slow. In fact, it runs great on KitKat.

I think slowness is very subjective, though. That said, it has had almost two years of updates, so I'd be pretty surprised if it got an official L release update.

FritoDorito

I got my Nexus 7 around August, just a couple weeks after it released. It was amazing and fast when I first had it. Eventually, the screen got cracked and I later got a newer revision (it was around when they got rid of the 8 GB version and introduced the 32 GB version). I wish I could say it aged well, but it really didn't. The Tegra 3 was a disaster, and whether it was because the processor was bad, the RAM was cheap, NVIDEA sucked at supplying drivers, whatever the reason, it started to seriously slow down after the first couple of updates. You might not necessarily notice it unless you hold a newer device next to it, but once I got a Nexus 4, it became very hard to switch back to the Nexus 7 for any tasks.

My 5 year old niece has my Nexus 7 now, and it does have Kitkat, but I honestly don't expect it to handle another software update. I'm willing to bet the 2013 Nexus 7 will live a longer life, but the Tegra 3 in the first Nexus 7 seems to have neutered it.

Kevin Turabian

It's really unfortunate that the Tegra 3 processor got saddled with terrible memory both in terms of ram and flash memory storage. It really is a fine CPU and GPU but almost every product it was put in had terrible other compromises that make it look bad. My N7 2012 is running the latest CM builds and is quite speedy, at least it is quick enough that I don't mind using it over my N5 when I want a little more viewing area. (Turning off F-sync is a huge speedup on it, as is using ART)

??

It is.

Crispin Swickard

They are to be dev devices, and all. Maybe release images for devs for Beta testing/developing, but not roll out the update automatically to everyone thats has a Nexus device.

Tushar Khubani

Really wow. The wait begins soon

http://www.thepixelpuse.com/ Aj Meadows

I've somehow never seen this image before. It is now my favorite thing.

http://www.droid-life.com/ Steve B

Doge Bear?

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Dobearge

http://www.droid-life.com/ Steve B

Oh shit, look out!

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

WHAT? WHE--

Matt

Uggh yeah...I'm totally working on an app that will make people's lives better and revolutionize the mobile industry...now can I get the preview please, Google?

Captain Canada

I think that if they release this to OEMs tomorrow it will be huge in decreasing Android's fragmentation. Imagine that the day iOS 8 is released so too is Android "L", as in the M8, Z2, G3 and S5 amongst other phones get updated the same day just as a Nexus would. Cray.

TheFirstUniverseKing

That may happen for unlocked phones, but unfortunately carriers will be adamant about making sure that doesn't happen with their phones.

Debadatta Bose

This should be the most stable version in the history of Android then!

Public Beta FTW!

SteffGibbonsrae

my Aunty Allison recently got a nice 6 month old Jaguar by
working from a macbook.this website C­a­s­h­d­u­t­i­e­s­.­C­O­M­

nofearofimaginarymen

She gets paid in giant cats! That's awesome!

Mike

"Honeycomb, for all its experimentation and innovation, was widely-regarded as a flop."

Utter tripe, it was the foundation for ICS, which was the biggest Android change to date. It was also the first version to bridge phones and tablets in Android, so any slow uptake was purely because it was an emerging market for ANdroid.

Utterly pathetic reporting yet again by AP. Have you no standards anymore?

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

Well, except Honeycomb did suck and Google did end up backtracking on 90% of the tablet-specific UI changes it introduced, or evolved them out of the OS. I'm pretty sure even Google has gone on the record as not being super happy with what happened there.

Chapa

Actually, Matias Duarte said during ICS presentation in HongKong (Galaxy Nexus unveiling... such a great moment) that Honeycomb was rushed and that they thought they weren't making enough of a good job back then... and that ICS was their way to put things straight.

http://nopenopenope.nope Ryuuie

I get you're probably trolling (and you're bad at it, by the way), but it really was regarded as a flop both critically and publicly.

Honeycomb wasn't the first version to bridge phones and tablets, Ice Cream Sandwich was. Honeycomb was a tablet-only operating system. If it was the "first version to bridge phones and tablets in Android", wouldn't you think it would release on both tablets AND phones?

It was a flop, most everyone hated it. Sure, it paved the way to ICS, but HC itself was full of bugs. In fact, it was so buggy that they didn't even release the source for it, from what I remember.

Fabian Pineda

It was a convulsed release. Pathetic at best.

It wasn't released, then it was, sorta, then it was taken down and absorbed into Oblivion along with Martin Septim to never ever see the light again.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Yes, it bridged Gingerbread and ICS to what we call a "unified the exprience" across the OS so it was one version for everything, not two completely different OSs because Honeycomb was nothing like Gingerbread, it really seemed as if they were two entirely different system from two different manufacturers. But that doesn't the deny that that OS version was a failure, and the market share proves it. Except for maybe Motorola XOOM, there were zero good Honeycomb tablets. And the market share proves it, that much that it's now officially dead.

It was a just step towards what we have today, but nothing else

Craig M

Honeycomb WAS a flop. Jesus dude, it's obvious to everyone(except you apparently).

Matt

It was the Windows ME of Android. Nobody even talks about it anymore. It was definitely a flop.

Chapa

I LOLed hard at this one. So true.

http://turbofool.com Jarrett Lennon Kaufman

Windows Me was the foundation of a lot of XP's beat features. And Vista was the main core of everything that made 7 great. That doesn't mean either didn't suck and wasn't panned by reviewers and poor sales.

dfdf

Windows ME was the end of the line. XP was a continuation of the Windows2000 line.

Honeycomb should have really been called ICS Beta 1. It served it's purpose perfectly. Far from a flop.

http://turbofool.com Jarrett Lennon Kaufman

XP carried over a lot of functionality introduced to the general home user, including special folders and system restore, among others. It's a predecessor to a lot of the philosophy of XP.

Honeycomb doesn't have to be useless to be a flop. Vista was a commercial flop, yet we wouldn't have 7 without it. Honeycomb was absolutely, positively a commercial and critical flop, but we wouldn't have ICS without it.

Don't take technical truths so personally. Heck, it might have been PLANNED to be a flop. But it was still a flop.

http://www.droid-life.com/ Steve B

Are you a fucking idiot? Honeycomb is by far the black sheep of Android releases. It was a convoluted design and buggy software through and through. It may have been a stepping stone to ICS, but Honeycomb by itself was complete garbage. Even Google thought it was garbage by keeping it out of AOSP.

joser116

Vista was the foundation for Windows 7, does that mean that Vista wasn't a flop? It was.

Simon Belmont

It helped pave the way, but it's considered a pretty big flop. Do you know anyone that truly remembers their Honeycomb tablet experience fondly? I don't. Rose tinted glasses are awesome, aren't they?

Honeycomb was half-baked. If it had been fully baked, it would have been what ICS ended up being and unified tablets and phones directly and not been a stopgap.

http://nopenopenope.nope Ryuuie

I don't know if I like a tablet being the ONLY new reference device for the L-release...

I'm just going to hope for a phone because there's really nothing out there, not even the Moto X, that can get updates as fast.

geusts

The difference between the Nexus 5 and the MotoX updates was a matter of a couple of weeks. People with MotoX were getting the OTA before the Nexus 5 completed its rollout.

Just stahp.

http://nopenopenope.nope Ryuuie

You told me to "stahp", so I did.

I stopped taking everything you just said seriously because you seem to think you're on Reddit or something. At least try to spell if you're going to debate with me.

Thanks.

Matthew Gardner

You attacked spelling and completely failed to address the valid point they made? That's pretty much admitting you were wrong right there.

http://about.me/jovanphilip Van

Wow..

Christopher Bement

Pleeeeeeease just stahp.

https://plus.google.com/+MichaelBond codemonkey85

Even if there isn't a new "Nexus" phone this fall, I'm sure there will be a new device that encompasses similar enough qualities as a reference device. But even worst-case, I guess the Nexus 5 would still be a viable reference, right?

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

But it's crap compared to Nexus 4 :/

http://twitter.com/yo2boy_ yo2boy

wat

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Yes, I said it: Nexus 4 is better than Nexus 5

Sir Perro

As a Nexus 4 owner, that's not true

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

As a Nexus 4 owner - I disagree

http://turbofool.com Jarrett Lennon Kaufman

Jelly Bean launched with a tablet and was fantastic. And the Moto X beat the Nexus 4 to its KitKat update.

Stanley C.

If this Volatis tablet will be the last nexus, Im very disappointed...

Shoul be a nexus phone. Pretty sad google:'(

http://www.thepixelpuse.com/ Aj Meadows

Yeah, I was kinda hoping they'd announce Silver but release just ONE last Nexus phone before the Silver program is initiated. Oh well :(

Chapa

I think it has something to do about optimizing code. Nexus 5 has hardware to keep it still, if not ahead, right ON the curve. That means that if Google is trying to sell that their software is optimized enough to run everywhere, pushing a new phone device might sound counter-productive.

A new tablet, on the other hand, should be more interesting to bring up to spec the tablet line and maybe throw a bone to aging OHA member HTC.

We could see some of project Tango research giving fruits in such a device?

http://turbofool.com Jarrett Lennon Kaufman

Why? Jelly Bean launched on a tablet. They can launch only so many phones per year, while they update Android more frequently.

DJ SPY

Next up, you're going to have to root your device to install a launcher.

Kevin Kuo

Hopefully the price of Voltanis isn't as high as the rumours. Hopefully, the 32Gb will be below $500.

Dominic Powell

or hopegully the 64GB is produced and is $500, 32GB is $450

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

*64GB is 450$, 32GB is 400$

Peter Blanco

*64GB is $400, 32GB is $350

chris125

*64gb is $350, 32gb is $300

boubalou

*64gb is $30, 32gb is $250

Peter Blanco

EDIT THIS QUICK FRIEND!

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

It's too late, the chain is broken

chris125

$30? That's a deal. Think you meant $300 lol

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

That would be too low of a price, HTC does need to get some profit off Volantis after all

Peter Blanco

I know haha I just wanted people to continue the trend until it hit 0!

Kevin Kuo

That would be the ideal pricing.

Nicholas Polydor

What I can't understand is why is why the limited-run Project Tango tablet is out now with a 7" 1920x1080 (16:9) screen, Tegra K1 32-bit SoC, 4GB RAM, 128GB storage, LTE *and* all the fancy depth cameras for $1024, whereas the HTC Volantis isn't coming out for three more months yet will feature an 8.9" 2048x1440 (4:3) screen, Tegra K1 64-bit SoC, 2GB RAM and 32GB storage for $500 (Wi-Fi only, LTE version will be dearer). Why not just release the Project Tango tablet properly as the Android L launch device but increase the spec to a 3840x2160 screen, 64-bit SoC and 256GB storage? At least that would provide decent competition for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Pro.

Kevin Kuo

Project tango is still in early stages of development. It's out now only for the very serious developers. It is not ready for mass production and consumer use. There are only few apps that take advantage to its space detection system, and the extra cost to produce it is impractical, as the price will become too high and no one will buy it.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Because who the hell will buy a tablet for 1000$ that is clearly not aimed at public that buys Nexus devices?

Same as Glass

Matt

Sooo....will there be any way for Android users to run the preview or will it be purely for developers a la iOS beta?

chris125

Wonder if they will move to a beta like trial like apple does? Could help with a lot of the bugs

http://them3blog.wordpress.com/ Abel

Please make this be the truth! I need to see some android action! Otherwise things might be a bit boring.

Also can we have a preview like iOS users? It would help manufacturers and everyone on the community if android gets a preview moths before it's released to the public

Defenestratus

Can't say that I like where Google is going with all this Apple-like behavior.

4:3 screens, heavy price tags on hardware, bullsh*t OS previews...

Next thing you know they'll start requiring physical hardware buttons on the bottom bezel of the devices.

Matthew DiGiacomo

Stoppp.

PoisonApple31

Sounds like your a candidate for Tizen.

http://ignaciozippy.com/ Ignacio Zippy

THIS.

tymalo

Is anyone from AP going to be attending IO?

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

Artem, Cody, and Liam will all be up in that motherfucker, I am told.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

I hope for liveblogging at least, in case someone will not be able to watch via youtube

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

There will be a liveblog. AP confirmed.

Kieron Quinn

You should have done one of WWDC with sarcasm as some other sites did

Crispin Swickard

That would probably been pretty funny this last WWDC especially considering all the stuff iOS 8 was lifting from android.

senor_heisenberg

Finally! Hopefully they let developers see a preview version, like what apple does, so they can update apps before the latest version releases.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Honestly Google should've started a beta program for developers years ago

Chapa

Thing is, they never had to. Nexus devices received the cool new things, while the mainstream OEM pushed the previous version forward. Devs had their hands early on new code and the industry was buffering giving them enough time to develop new stuff.
But now, with every OEM trying to put the latest OS version at launch, things like a Developer Program Release wouldn't sound bad at all.

Maxim∑

that might be tougher to do because of the huge variety of android devices out there.

TheLastAngel

And let's hope they also keep the yearly release cycle. 4.3 was a largely unnecessary release IMO.

joser116

It was necessary for Android Wear so that by the time it was released, many Android phones would have it by then. Android 4.3 is the minimal requirement for Android Wear, since that OS was the first Android release to support Bluetooth LE.

militaryildar

guys? where to see online videotranslation of IO?

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

YouTube

militaryildar

where on it? Google Dev channel?

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

yeah, just like last year

militaryildar

ty

http://about.me/jovanphilip Van

I can't wait to see these 'all-but-confirmed' rumors of the Nexus line being cancelled smashed and put to rest when they really do launch a 2014 N5 in the fall with the new L release.

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

Except that almost definitely isn't happening. I hate to be the "I can't show you, but I've seen things" guy, but I have, and I'm pretty confident Nexus phones = RIP.

https://plus.google.com/+MichaelBond codemonkey85

Still safe to say that Google will continue releasing "reference" devices for devs to build against, though?

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

Silver devices will be as close to reference phones as we'll get anymore on the consumer side, I think. Maybe Google is planning on doing dev-specific devices, too, but we have no information on that front.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

We'll see

Leo

Care to elaborate? Have you seen conclusive evidence of the Nexus line being ditched? That sounds like a rather stupid move...

What purpose would a beta program serve? I don't understand.. you can see all the code commits being made to Android itself. Its really Play Services and the other Google service API's that aren't open sourced...

https://plus.google.com/+MichaelBond codemonkey85

Unless they don't want to release the AOSP code for this release until the official fall debut.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

So that we wouldn't need to wait for days/weeks/months for app developers to adapt their apps to the latest release and add compatibility

http://www.Nave360.com Sebastian Gorgon

Like it took Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and pretty much every other big app developer years literately to update their app UI? few months head start won't change shit, but prove me wrong, please, because i want it like that.

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Obviously this won't change the attitude or certain developers unless Google puts a leash on everybody like Apple does in AppStore, but I'm talking about others who AT LEAST bothered to update their apps accordingly with Holo UI

Defenestratus

I pretty much agree with Sebastian... developers by and large don't care about updating their android apps in a timely manner because they know that only the enthusiasts will have the latest Android OS version with the nexus program and aftermarket ROM flashers. The average village idiot android user wont get the next version of android sent to their phone for months more than likely so whats the purpose in having their apps updated within hours of release?

Fabian Pineda

Love how the so called death of Nexus is taken at face value and stated as fact with little to no room for other possible scenarios.

perhac88

So will we get a type of beta of "L" we can try like apples does also with there updates? That'd be kinda cool

http://blog.tonysarju.com/ Tony

There is a very good chance that AP and other sites like this are already versed in Android Wear, Android-L release and more but are under embargo from saying anything until the launch dates. All they can do now is post up actual leaked/publicly available data.

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

We are not under any embargo from Google or any other company regarding upcoming releases of Android, Android phones, tablets, or other Android-powered hardware.

richardarkless

Thats what someone under embargo would say....

http://www.androidpolice.com/ David Ruddock

OR IS IT

Chapa

OR ISN'T

Fatal1ty_93_RUS

Of course! I mean, you guys wouldn't be fired from Google, would you? :P

NF

You didn't say anything about Tizen.
Coming soon: Tizen Police

Tomáš Petrík

I heard somebody from AP say a year or two ago that the fact they are not getting early previews is actually good, because they can release leaks, unlike let's say The Verge, who know stuff, but can't comment on anything, leaks including.

KingRando

This is awful. What is the point in building hype months before release? Everyone forgets about it by then

PiLoT .

so that any concerns can be addressed before relase instead of after maybe?

Wesley Modderkolk

Cannot think of anything that was hyped months before the release, and then at release was forgotten.

DonEmu

Because everyone forgets about iOS releases?

VAVA Mk2

My body is ready

Brett Besa

I really really hope that the preview is given to developers so it can make its way over to XDA

AbbyZFresh

This. This will give developers(and especially OEMs and carriers) more time to start preparing their apps and phones seeing the preview in time for the fall release.

Arthur Jolivet

And more time for integrate ART especially because when ART will be the default runtime many of the application which don't integrate ART won't run or have force close, issues,...

QuadKore

Shiiiiiit!!! Well, as bad as I want the next Android release I can wait... especially since it sounds like we'll be getting some pretty awesome/major changes.

Good things come to those who wait...

Ryan Callihan

Now I'm super excited! I won't be able to sleep tonight...

http://adonisk.com Adonis K.

Wasn't it the same for Honeycomb?

Simon Belmont

This isn't really unprecedented. They took a year between releases of Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Android 4.0 ICS. Yes, Honeycomb launched in between, but I'm talking about the year gap between versions of the fully unified phone/tablet OS. ICS was a major upgrade from GB, so it made sense.

I sort of see this as what was done back in I/O 2011, when Ice Cream Sandwich was announced (but this time we're getting a preview, too, which is awesome), and then released in the fall 2011 with the Galaxy Nexus. Android 5.0 L release will be a major upgrade from Android 4.4 KitKat, so all of this makes sense to me. Can't wait to see the preview tomorrow. Going to be watching the stream on my Chromecast.

brkshr

While I do like me some previews. I can't help but wish that Google would hold their cards closer to their chest. I feel like these 'leaks' and 'previews' of Android Wear and the next Android UI also help apple step up their game before their next product release. I'm all for competition upping the ante and whatnot. But I would prefer that Android/Google had their products out their first, before apple can 'claim' their 'first', 'revolutionary', 'magical' claim to fame of features.

Leo

Would be useless anyway. iOS7 and 8 are basically recompiled builds of JB/KK, and that did't stop them from taking desperate jabs at Android.

lemon

L for lemonade

Android Developer

or Leroy Jenkins.

saf1927

Does anyone know how long it takes for them to upload the video after the live stream ends? I'll be at work at that time, so I'd gladly watch it tomorrow evening when I'm back.

Yeah what the hell is with this Nexus 6 shit anyway? Never going to happen unless Google goes bankrupt and sells the Nexus brand to Samsung.

Joshua

The Nexus 4 was not a 4" device, it was 4.7". It's entirely possible that a Nexus 6 could exist at the 5" point.

PoisonApple31

Yeah, 5.5" based on the G3 right? /s

Joshua

I mean, I like the size of my Note II, so I wouldn't mind that so much. I can see why it might not appeal to a broader market, though.

PoisonApple31

Screw the little guys with the small hands! I would have no problem with it being over 5 inches!

INF3RNO

"I would have no problem with it being over 5 inches!"

I BET YOU WOULDNT!!! ;)

Walkop

Its based on screen size. I don't get why people say Nexus 6. It can't be, because then the next version would interfere with the tablet naming scheme.

NF

This makes sense. They need to get developers on board sooner. They reach out to a few apps every release, like Lightflow or Netflix to demo some new APIs. Yet then a bunch of people get the OS and there's no apps.

I imagine Google announces Licorice and makes it available for emulators. That would mesh with recent emulator updates including adding Google Play Services. Sessions would help developers target the new version and get apps ready to ship.

Once it updates in the fall, it can hit a bunch of devices at once, improving market share, plus users get a ton of new features in apps to play with.

If they try to drop Licorice in the fall with major changes, it won't be picked up by as many developers at once, making the OS seem fragmented and not consistent.

Hmm. One hopes that if they're moving to a yearly cycle of big updates (yes, I realize that might not be the case here, and that the L release will just take longer because it's a major change), that they would have a beta program for people try it out as the bugs are being worked out.

Apple does it that way. Microsoft has the developer program for WP8.1. It would be awesome if Google did it with Android. It would totally make up for losing an update every six months, and probably let OEMs breathe a little more on keeping stuff updated.

mightymightyme

I think the delay makes sense considering the switch from Dalvik to ART. They want to make sure that the majority of apps support ART before they launch it. This is them trying to give developers enough time to update before it rolls out. I wouldn't be surprised to see a developer build made available to help with testing.

"Our suspicion for quite some been has been" -Time is old news. All hail been!

Bariman43

I'm excited for the reveal. I'm hoping Android L changes how we look at Android the same way 4.0 and 4.1 did. And Quantum as a successor to Holo is a cool concept to me. Really hoping for a Beta program so that we stop getting slightly broken major Android releases.

twistkill

Wait! Isn't the presentation style patented by Apple?!

Leo

Even the air you breathe is patented by Apple. MacBook "Air", see what I did there?

hocestquisumus

would be cool if the others like sammy etc used the time and came out with the new version for at least their flagships within a week of release.

... well one can dream.

Abdulrhman Yousef

Google should do something to the updates
because when Google announce a new android version LUCKY nexus owners get the update after few days or a week later
and samsung,HTC,Sony,etc. get the update after 3 months or more